In Your Arms Of Love
by Lady Kea
Summary: Complete and Newly Rewritten. A SangoxMiroku story...Miroku has damaged the wind tunnel and has to return to the temple to see Mushin, but he's not going alone.
1. One

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: this was the first fic that I ever wrote and reading it over I decided that I was going to re-write it and make it better! _

**In your arms of love**  
_One_

Miroku sat on the grassy hill and stared down at his right hand. He curled his hand into a fist and then uncurled it. _Damn. It still hurts. _He thought as he continued to flex his hand, hoping that doing that would alleviate the pain.

He felt the presence of someone behind him, but he didn't turn, he kept his attention focused on his hand, where he knew the damaged wind tunnel rested.

"Miroku?" he heard Sango's voice ask from behind him. "Is there something wrong?"

Miroku turned to face her, she was walking down the hill towards him and once she reached him she sat down and they looked at each other and then looked at Miroku's right hand.

"There's nothing wrong Sango, you don't need to worry about me."

"Miroku, you're eyes don't look like nothing is wrong. Your eyes betray you. There is something wrong and you're going to tell me what or you're not leaving this spot."

"No Sango, it's really nothing. I can handle it, it will be fine." He said, trying to reassure her.

Sango crossed her arms and fake frowned at him, "Miroku, I thought that we were closer than this. You can't even tell me when you're hurt? I don't know why you have to hide things from me."

"I just don't want you to worry about me. I'm telling you it's nothing because I don't think that it is anything you need to concern yourself with."

Sango leaned towards Miroku, she placed her hand on his arm, "I'm sick of arguing with you over something that is supposedly "nothing." Please just tell me."

"I'm telling you it's nothing. I simply injured my hand in yesterday when we fought with that large bear demon."

"Which hand?" she asked, her eyes showing her concern, even in the dark.

"The right one." Miroku said non-shalantly, hoping that she would not be worried if he didn't appear worried.

"Miroku? Was it your hand you injured, or was it your wind tunnel?" she asked as they walked up the hill towards the area where they were camped for the night.

"The sides of my wind tunnel were nicked when I drew in the bear, I'm not even sure it is a problem yet. It is a small nick, nothing too serious."

"You never said anything about that Miroku." Kagome said, overhearing their conversation, "You should get it mended, it could turn out to be a serious problem."

"I will tell you what I have been telling Sango all night, I do not think it will be a big problem."

"Well I was giving you my opinion, but you obviously know more about it than I do."

"Yeah, whatever can we focus on something more important? We have things that affect all of us to concern ourselves with." Inuyasha said, "Like finding the jewel shards."

"He's right." Miroku said, happy for the attention to be off of his hand for a short while. He turned to Kagome, who was making ramen for Inuyasha over the fire. "Kagome, do you sense any jewel shards?"

"No…not right now." She said in an apologetic voice.

"Well that's useless." Inuyasha said. Kagome handed him his ramen, which he ate in a matter of five seconds. He handed the empty bowl to Kagome and stood up. "Well, if Kagome doesn't sense shards, I want to keep walking until we sense something. Everyone, get your things and let's get a move on!"

Everyone reluctantly gathered their packs, extinguished the fire and followed Inuyasha out of the clearing.

They trudged half-awake through the woods, there was no sign of any jewel shards anywhere but Inuyasha wouldn't allow them to stop until Kagome sensed something. They walked groggily for an hour before Kagome was past the point of exhaustion and began to complain.

"Guys? Please. Can we stop now? I'm really tired, I don't think my legs can carry me anymore. I need to go to bed. I haven't sensed a jewel shard all night. Please Inuyasha? Can we just stop?"

Inuyasha scoffed, "Stop complaining Kagome. We'll be ready to stop when I say we are ready to stop."

"But Inuyasha, who put you in charge of deciding when are ready to stop for the night?" Miroku asked, "I believe I am the one who gets us a place to stay almost every night. Doesn't it seem right if I am the one to decide when we stop?"

"I agree with Miroku." Kagome said, quick to agree with anyone who could get her a bed for the night.

"Kagome! Nobody asked what you wanted!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Shut up Inuyasha! I'll give my opinions whenever I want!" she snapped back.

"Stop fighting! Both of you! It's obvious everyone is just too tired to keep moving." Sango said, always the voice of reason.

"Look up ahead! There's a palace!" Shippou exclaimed, "We're stopping here!"

"Well…I guess Shippou's in charge," Kagome said with a small laugh.

They approached the main gates and a guard opened the door.

"Who calls on the castle at this hour in the night?" he asked angrily.

"Hello. I am a traveling monk. My band and I were making our way though the forest when I noticed a strange demonic aura surrounding this castle. I would gladly perform an exorcism for free, if my band and I could have a place to stay for the night."

"I will be back" the guard said and closed the door. They waited for a moment before the guard returned and opened the doors for them. "My lord says you may stay for the night, monk, you must perform the exorcism now, before you go to sleep."

Miroku nodded, "Of course. If you show me where I will be sleeping first, I will then gladly perform the exorcism."

The guard led them down a maze of hallways where two rooms sat opposite each other. "This room is for the women" he said, pointing to the room on his left. "And this room will be for the men" he pointed to the room on his right. "You will be given breakfast tomorrow before you leave, have a pleasant sleep. Monk, come with me."

The others retired to their rooms and Miroku followed the guard to the main hall of the castle. He performed the "exorcism," placing talismans on the main pillars around the castle. He finished after a half hour and he then walked back to his room and laid down to try and get some sleep.

He tossed and turned but was unable to sleep. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling and at his right hand.

"Why does it still hurt?" he asked himself not understanding, "It's just a little nick, why does it hurt so badly?" he sat up on his cot and looked at his hand again in the moonlight. "I have to go see Mushin" he decided finally, "I do not want to go, but if it's what I must do, then I have to leave." He stood up and gathered his things and slid the door of his room open.

He quietly left his room, closing the door behind him and headed down the hall, towards the castle gates. He closed the door a little too hard and startled Sango awake. She slid her door open and stuck her head into the hallway, where she saw Miroku walking away.

"Miroku, what are you doing? Where are you going?" she asked loud enough so he could hear her.

Miroku turned around and walked back to Sango. He knelt down beside her so he would be able to talk quietly. "I'm going to see Mushin; I need him to fix the wind tunnel. I'll be back soon enough."

"It's dangerous to travel alone Miroku, something terrible could happen to you."

"Hatchi is coming with me, so I won't be alone. Don't worry about me Sango, just go back to bed."

"Do you really think that Hatchi will serve as protection for you? He can barely take care of himself."

"That is true, but I can take care of myself. Sango, you don't need to worry about me."

He stood, turned and once again headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Sango shouted as quietly as she could while not waking everyone else. He turned and saw her turn back into her room. She quickly grabbed her hiraikotsu, left her room, closing the door behind her. She walked down the hall towards him and said, "I'm coming with you."

"No, Sango, you can't come. It's too dangerous."

"Oh, so now it's too dangerous? It wasn't so dangerous when we were talking about you going alone. I am a demon slayer, I am strong, and I will kill anything that stands in my way."

"Why do you want to go with me? You never seemed too concerned when it came to me before."

"I don't want anything to happen to you; you are an important part of this group. We need your power to defeat Naraku." Sango said, not wanting him to know the real reason why she wanted to go with him.

Miroku knew that there was no sense in fighting with her any longer. "Fine. Get all of your belongings, you're coming with us."

"I already have everything I need."

Miroku nodded, "Good, then follow me, Hatchi is outside waiting for me."

They quietly headed through the hallways and out of the castle. They left a message with the guards for Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippou and walked out to the forest where Hatchi had been waiting for them. He transformed and carried Sango and Miroku towards the high priest's temple.

* * *

_Authoress' Note: well, I think rewriting this is a good idea. I enjoyed writing this cause it was my very first fic. So I would love some reviews! Thanks everyone! This rewrite will most likely take no time at all._


	2. Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**In your arms of love**  
_Chapter 2_

After walking straight through the night, Sango and Miroku reached the temple shortly after dawn. They placed their belongings down on the porch of the temple and looked around and were surprised that Mushin was not there to greet them.

"Miroku? Where is Master Mushin?" Sango asked, placing her hiraikotsu on the ground next to her. They both looked around and could not find him.

"I'm not quite sure. He's probably inside still passed out from a night of drinking." Miroku finally deducted.

"Oh. That doesn't seem like the right thing for a priest to be doing. But maybe we should find him and wake him; you need your wind tunnel fixed as soon as possible."

They walked into the temple and found that Miroku's assumption was correct. Mushin was passed out in the middle of the temple's main room, with a significant drool puddle pooling under his somewhat open mouth.

"Wake up!" Miroku yelled at him, but to no avail. The monk was out cold; is seemed that even the end of the earth couldn't wake him.

"We'll just have to wait until he wakes up Sango. It is still very early in the morning; he will probably be awake in a few hours. There is a room right through there where you can rest until he is awake. We have been walking all night and you must be tired."

"Thank you, but where will you sleep Miroku? You have been walking all night as well. And I managed to get an hour of sleep while you were up exorcising the castle. If anyone should get some rest it should be you. I am a slayer Miroku; I am accustomed to little or no sleep."

Miroku shook his head, "No Sango, you go to sleep. If it makes you feel any better, I will sleep as well."

"But didn't you say that there was only one room? If you are going to sleep as well, then where are you going to sleep?"

"Don't worry Sango, I'll find a place."

"Well, if there are really no other places to sleep, you can come in here and sleep with me tonight."

Miroku couldn't believe what he had just heard, "Are you sure Sango? You would not be uncomfortable?"

"I'm very sure. There is no where else to sleep and I will not have you sitting up here awake while I sleep when you need your rest as much as I need mine."

"As long as you are sure. Thank you Sango."

They went into the room together and lay down together on the small, thin cot. They were woken up a few hours later to Mushin ringing the temple bells. Sango rolled over in bed to make a comment about the noise, only to see that Miroku had already woken up and had left the room.

She straightened her clothing and walked out of the room, sliding the door closed behind her. She walked out onto the porch and saw Miroku down kneeling in front of his father's grave marker. She walked down and knelt beside him.

He felt her presence beside him and he opened his eyes and stood up. "So you're finally awake Sango." Miroku said with a smile.

He helped her up and they walked out of the grave and walked back toward the temple. "I don't understand how you can stand to be up so early, and I thought I woke at an early hour." She said with a smile.

"I couldn't do it either, but I became accustomed to it. And the loud bells tend to help you wake up."

They walked back up to the temple and found that Mushin has set the table for breakfast.

"Good morning Miroku. Good morning young lady." Mushin said.

Sango bowed to him, "Good morning Mushin-sensei. Thank you for allowing me to stay at your beautiful temple."

"You're very welcome young lady. You are welcome as long as you wish to stay."

Sango sat down with Mushin, Miroku, and Hatchi for breakfast. After they ate Sango left the temple and walked down the long trail to the waterfall so Miroku and Mushin could be alone to talk about the wind tunnel and figuring it out how to mend it. Sango walked down with Hatchi by her side.

"Hatchi?" she asked after a little while of silence.

"Yes Miss Sango?"

"Do you know if Master Mushin will be able to fix Miroku's wind tunnel?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"Don't worry Sango. Everything will probably be fine; he helped Master Miroku last time the wind tunnel was injured."

Sango nodded "I see. And it was okay after the last time it was injured and fixed?"

"Yes Sango, everything was fine."

Sango looked up the hill and saw Miroku coming down to join them at the waterfall.

"So?" she asked hopefully, "Will he be able to fix the wind tunnel?"

"Mushin said that he would be able to repair most of the injuries to the wind tunnel, but he also said that he wasn't sure if he could fix it all the way. He went to get his herbs to make medicine to numb me for the procedure. After he gets all that he needs to get, I'll return to the temple and he'll fix the wind tunnel."

"That is good news Miroku. The sooner everything is back to normal and the wind tunnel is fixed, the sooner we can rejoin the others and continue to look for the jewel shards."

"Of course. I will most likely be able to travel back and meet the others tomorrow morning once the herbs have worn off."

"That's good."

"Miroku!" Mushin called to him from the temple. With the sound of the rushing waterfall they could barely hear him, but they still knew exactly what he had said. he waved for Miroku to come to him "Miroku! I have gathered everything I need. I will repair the wind tunnel now!"

Miroku stood up and took a few steps up the hill before he turned back to Sango, "We can talk later, after the wind tunnel has been fixed."

Sango nodded, "Okay."

He walked further up the hill and Sango looked after her the whole time.

"Good luck," she said, "Come back to me safe and sound" she said, and her voice was drowned out by the waterfall.

* * *

_Authoress' Note: please review!_


	3. Three

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**In your arms of love**  
_Chapter 3_

Sango watched Miroku walk all the way up the hill and into the temple before she took her eyes off of him. She turned to the raccoon dog who was sitting serenely next to her. "I'm worried Hatchi," she said nervously.

Hatchi looked at the slayer, a woman whom he had never seen nervous or worried "Why are you worried Sango? Master Miroku said that everything is going to be perfectly fine."

For some reason, Sango couldn't accept that as an answer. "But what if the wind tunnel _can't_ be repaired? What if something happens to Miroku?" she asked worriedly.

The raccoon dog looked at her with curious eyes, "But why are you so worried taijiya-sama? Is it possible you have feelings for Master Miroku?"

Sango blushed at Hatchi's question and hesitated before finally answering him softly, "I…I believe I do Hatchi."

"Taijiya-sama, I am positive that everything is going to work out all right. The wind tunnel will be fixed and you and Master Miroku can be together."

"Hatchi, who said that Miroku and I would be together?"

Hatchi simply laughed and walked up the hill, leaving Sango alone by the waterfall.

* * *

As the medicinal herbs began to wear off, Miroku stirred form his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes to see Mushin standing over him. Despite the monk's normally pleasant, drunken face Miroku could tell that there was something wrong.

"So you're finally awake Miroku. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine Mushin, just a little groggy that's all. But what's wrong? You look worried." Miroku asked, although he was afraid to know what was making the monk so worried. He knew that it had to be something bad and Miroku wasn't ready to hear that.

"There's something important that I need to tell you." The monk said; sitting down beside the mat that Miroku was still lying on.

"What is it Mushin? What's wrong?"

"Miroku, it pains me to have to tell you this, but it appears that I couldn't repair the wind tunnel all of the way."

Miroku hastily sat up, "What does that means Mushin?"

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Miroku, but you only have about two months to live Miroku." Mushin said solemnly, bowing his head.

The words cut through Miroku like a knife; he sat motionless, not knowing how to respond to what he was just told. The words of the monk echoed through his head.

_You only have two months to live._

_Two months to live, two months to live._

_Two months._

"Mushin, could I be alone for a little bit?"

"Of course Miroku. And once again, I am sorry that I have failed you." He said solemnly as he left Miroku alone in the temple. After moments of sitting in silence, not knowing what to do next, he decided to go see Sango, hoping that seeing her would make him feel better.

He walked out of the temple and headed down the small hill where he saw Sango sitting alone by the waterfall, dangling her bare feet into the water. She turned and saw him coming and he could see the smile that adorned her face from where he was standing, causing him to become even more sad, knowing that she was going to be upset when he told her the news.

He hurried down the hill and sat down next to her on the rock, slipping off his sandals and putting his feet into the water next to hers.

"Miroku, how did everything go? The monk fixed the wind tunnel, didn't he?" she asked, expecting good news.

Miroku looked at her smiling face and suddenly felt guilty. _She seems so concerned; I can't possibly tell her the truth. Although it pains me to lie, it will hurt less than the truth will._

"Yes Sango, everything is fine. Mushin repaired the wind tunnel successfully and it is good as new."

Sango smiled, "That's' very good, I'm glad you're okay. I need to talk to you alone; can we go for a walk?" she asked him, pulling her feet out of the water and shaking them off before putting her shoes back on. Miroku did the same and they climbed off the rock and Miroku began walking towards the temple.

"No, not the temple, come this way" she said, pulling him towards the woods surrounding the temple.

"Okay Sango, whatever you say." He said smiling, Mushin's words still weighing heavily on his heart.

They walked a ways into the woods, just as the sky was getting dark. Sango looked up at the sky to see that the stars had begun to come out. "Aren't they beautiful?" Sango asked.

Miroku looked up at the sky and smiled, "Yes they are beautiful." _But they don't hold a candle to you._

"I feel sorry for Inuyasha tonight." She said after a few more minutes of looking at the sky.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Don't you notice something different up there?" She asked him.

Miroku looked at the sky, looking for something out of the ordinary; "It's a new moon."

They stood without speaking for a moment, just enjoying the peacefulness of staring at the stars.

"Is there any certain place you wanted to go Sango?"

"Yes, a place I went to earlier today, if I remember correctly it should be right around here."

They went through the woods a little more before they finally arrived at a meadow. The meadow was filled with wild flowers, all of which were in bloom. The stars illuminated the entire meadow as if it were day time. Sango ran forward and lay down among the flowers, staring up at the stars.

"Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in you life Miroku? The flowers and the stars…"

"And you," he said softly, looking at her.

"What was that Miroku? I didn't hear you"

She sat up and he sat down beside her amongst the flowers, "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Miroku…there's something I need to talk to you about…I don't exactly know how to say it. It's…it's just that…"

"What Sango? Don't be afraid to tell me anything. You _can_ tell me anything."

"Well…in that case. I guess the only thing to tell you is that…I love you."

"You what?"

"I love you Miroku."

"You…love me?" Miroku asked, not knowing how to take what Sango had just told her.

Sango nodded, "Is that bad?" she asked, biting her bottom lip, "I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I…love you."

"Oh Sango, I love you too." He said with a smile.

All of Sango's insecurities left her the moment Miroku said that. A smile broke out on her face and she blushed deep red "You do?"

"Yes, I love you. So much Sango."

She smiled and he hugged her close to him. They both leaned back to lie down among the flowers and she put her head on his chest.

"But Sango, there's something I need to tell you." He said, knowing that he couldn't hide the truth from Sango any longer.

She lifted her head, "What is it Miroku? Is there something wrong?"

"Mushin couldn't fix the wind tunnel all the way."

"What does that mean Miroku? Is he going to try again? What does that mean?"

"It means that I only have two months to live."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: almost done with the re-write. I hope you all are enjoying it!_


	4. Four

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! I own nothing! I own nothing!**

**In your arms of love**  
_Chapter 4  
_  
"Excuse me? Could you say that one more time I don't I heard you correctly." she asked, not believing her own ears.

Miroku took a deep breath, not wanting to tell her another time, the first time being hard enough. "I only have two months to live Sango, that's what Mushin told me. He couldn't repair the wind tunnel all the way." Miroku said sadly, his secret finally revealed.

"When were you planning on telling me this?" she asked him and he could sense a hint of anger in her voice.

Miroku took another deep breath. He would do anything at that point to end the conversation; it was getting too real for him. "Actually, I wasn't. I felt like if I never told anyone, then it wasn't like it was real."

Sango couldn't believe what he was telling her, she had to hold her anger in, not wanting to attack him when he was in such a vulnerable place. Despite her better attempts of holding the anger in, she allowed some of it to slip out, so he would know that he had disappointed her. "You weren't? So…then what were you expecting to happen? Not tell me so you wouldn't have to deal with me because you were already dead? Was that your plan Miroku? Do you just expect me to be calm about this? Miroku, you're dying and you weren't going to tell me?!" she yelled at him, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"No Sango, that wasn't my intention. I simply did not want this to ruin our time together."

Sango blinked a few times and Miroku could see her brain rapidly working as she stared at him. the tears began to fall steadily as she sat silent in the grass. After a few moments she began to shake her head, "no" she whispered and she scooted closer to Miroku and put her head on his chest. The tears came rapidly and she kept saying "no" over and over again as she cried. He knew that he needed to soothe her, calm her in any way possible. He put his hand on her head and began stroking her hair, just letting her cry.

After she was out of tears she thought about what he had just told her. "Miroku, the only thing that could ruin our time together is you dying. I wouldn't be able to live. I have lost so much in my life; I went from having everything to having nothing in less than a day, Naraku took my whole family from me. If I lose you, he'll have taken everything that I've ever cared about. I don't know what I'll do."

"Sango, two months is a long time. we should enjoy it while we have it. Everything will turn out all right."_ At least I hope so. I couldn't bear to lose her._

their time together was interrupted when a familiar voice came calling into the meadow. "Master Miroku? Sango? Are you here?" Hatchi yelled, looking around the meadow for them.

Miroku opened his mouth to call for Hatchi, but Sango silenced him with a kiss. When they broke the kiss, she put her finger to his mouth and whispered, "Shhh, don't call him. He'll find us when he finds us."

He nodded his head in agreement, smiling at her. He leaned down to her and went in for another kiss; right before their lips met Hatchi found them.

"Master Miroku! There you are!" Hatchi exclaimed, running over to where they sat.

Miroku whipped his head around and Sango pulled away from him as the raccoon dog came toward them, causing both Sango and Miroku to blush.

Miroku laughed uneasily, "Yes, I suppose you did. Was there any particular reason that you needed to find me Hatchi?"

Hatchi thought for a moment before he remembered why he had come "Yes! There is a reason Master Miroku. Master Mushin wishes to talk to you, he sent me to come find you."

they stood up and brushed the grass and flower petals off of their clothing before beginning their walk back to the temple. Sango stopped walking after a moment and held Miroku back with her.

"Hatchi?" she called to him

"Yes Miss Sango?"

"You can go up ahead, tell Mushin that Miroku is coming. I think I dropped something. We'll meet you back at the temple"

"As you wish." Hatchi said and walked ahead, leaving them behind. Sango slowly reached for Miroku's hand as his reached for hers. The two hands met in the middle and they grasped each other tightly, as if they were never going to be separated.

_This is what it feels like to be in love?_ Sango thought as they walked slowly back to the temple, _I guess love is all it's cracked up to be._

Miroku and Sango arrived at the temple and their hands separated as Miroku went into the temple, leaving Sango alone outside, sitting on the steps of the temple, staring at the stars.

Hatchi walked over to where she sat and sat down next to her on the stairs. They sat without talking, Sango staring at the stars and Hatchi staring off into the distance.

"Hatchi?" Sango asked, still staring at the stars.

"Yes Miss Sango?"

"You know about Miroku, right?"

"yes, I do Miss Sango. Master Mushin told me shortly after he informed Master Miroku."

"Oh." She said shortly, her spirit falling even more and becoming even more depressed.

Hatchi reached out tentatively and placed it on Sango's shoulder. "Miss Sango, Master Miroku is strong. Everything will be fine."

"You know what? I think that after hearing that so much, I'm beginning to believe it. I have a lot of hope Hatchi, that will help me."

"Master Miroku isn't the only strong one here"

Sango nodded, _I have to be strong. I have to be strong for Miroku…and for myself._

* * *

_Authoress' Note: only one chapter left of the re-write and I'm really happy with how this revision is turning out. please review!_


	5. Five

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! I own nothing! I own nothing!**

**In your arms of love**  
_Chapter 5  
_  
The next two months between Sango and Miroku flew by faster than they would have liked. Although they went by quickly, they were spent with more love between them than either of them had ever felt for anyone before. They stayed up late at night, talking, and woke up early to watch the sun come up. They never mentioned Miroku's impending death, or discussed the wind tunnel while they were together, for fear it would ruin their time together. Mushin allowed the couple to keep to themselves for the majority of the time, letting them be together as much as possibly before Miroku's wind tunnel would eventually envelop him.

Sango awoke with a start and looked around the room. Miroku was still sleeping soundly beside her and she didn't want to wake him. She sat up in bed, trying to figure out what had woken her up. Then out of nowhere she knew what it was, she felt his presence, Naraku's presence. She felt all of her hatred for him well up inside her, hatred of him for causing the deaths of all her friends and family, and hatred of him for causing the suffering of the one person she truly loved. She could sense him nearby, approaching the temple at a fast rate.

She tried to settle her thoughts, but they ran wild within her mind; _what is he doing here? Why did he come? Why isn't he following Kagome and Inuyasha, they're the ones with the jewel shards…not us. We have nothing that he could possibly want. _She calmed her thoughts and then the only thought that mattered passed through her head, _if I can kill him then Miroku will be saved, the wind tunnel will disappear._

She got out of bed silently and took her hiraikotsu from the corner. Using her slayer skills that had laid dormant for the past two months, she stealthily ran from the small room where Miroku still lay sleeping. She walked out of the temple and ran down the well-trodden path from the temple leading to the meadow where they had laid beneath the stars and confessed their love for each other. She stopped as the meadow came into view and she saw Naraku standing in front of her.

"Well, well Sango. We meet again."

"Naraku!" she spit, feeling the hatred overwhelming every other part of her.

She quickly undid the strap that held the hiraikotsu to her back and thrust it at him. It managed to hit him, but it was an insignificant wound to Naraku.

"It will take more than that to defeat me Sango." He said condescendingly, finding joy in her failed attempt to kill him.

"I'll do whatever I can to save his life!" she yelled at him, "There's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"You are talking about the monk, are you not? Nothing can save his life now. It's useless. Just go back to the fools collecting jewel shards and leave him to die."

Sango was even more disgusted by his words, "I'd never leave him! And I can save his life! By killing you!"

Naraku chuckled as Sango threw the hiraikotsu at his again, her anger taking control of her and causing her to miss Naraku completely.

---------

Miroku stirred form his sleep and woke up to find that he was alone in the bed. He looked around the room to find that Sango was no where to be seen. He sat up in bed and noticed that the hiraikotsu was not in its usual spot in the corner.

"Where could she have gone off to? And why would she take the hiraikotsu with her?" he asked himself.

He got out of bed and walked out into the hall to find the door to the temple was left ajar. Knowing that something wasn't right, he walked out of the temple, sliding the door closed behind him so he wouldn't wake Mushin up. He saw her fresh footprints in the dirt and followed her trail. He came to the opening of the meadow and he was shocked to see Sango battling Naraku. He could see that she was terribly wounded, blood was dripping from both her arms and legs, and yet she still battled on.

_What could she possibly be thinking? She can't take on Naraku alone!_

Sango turned and saw Miroku standing at the entrance to the meadow, their meadow. She smiled at him and in that one moment of hesitation, Sango's guard was down and Naraku took full advantage of it. He ran at Sango with tremendous speed and brought his sword down upon Sango, slicing her across the chest and she fell to the ground, loosing blood at an alarming rate.

"Sango!" Miroku cried out, beginning to run towards her, knowing that she needed her wounds bound if she was going to live.

Naraku turned from Sango and began to move out of the meadow. As he reached the meadow's exit he motioned to his insects, giving them permission to finish off Sango for him, not wanting to dirty his hands any further. The bugs flew in a swarm towards Sango's body and Miroku didn't know what to do.

"No!" Miroku he shouted and began to run towards Sango again, not knowing how he would be able to protect her from the insects. Sango was too far away from him to move her in time and she was too badly wounded and couldn't move herself. His left hand touched the rosary beads on his right hand and he did the only thing he could think to do; he removed the rosary from his right hand.

"Wind tunnel!" He shouted, and as soon as he took of the rosary, he had sucked up all of the poisonous insects. He fell to the ground, the poison quickly taking its hold on him, and crawled to where Sango had fallen. He lifted her onto his lap and she looked up into his eyes and smiled. "I tried Miroku I really tried." She said weakly.

Miroku placed a finger over her mouth, "Shhh. I know you tried. It's okay, I'm here with you now, and everything's going to be fine. We're together and everything is going to be all right."

"Miroku." she said again and he looked down into her pain filled eyes. He knew that she wasn't going to make it, and that thought alone hurt him more than all the poison that was now coursing through his veins.

"Yes?" he asked painfully.

She looked up at him one last time and to his surprise she had worked up enough strength left and began to sing,

_"My heart is glad, that you called me your own.  
And there's no place I'd rather be.  
Than in your arms or love.  
Than in your arms of love.  
Holding me still, holding me near.  
In your arms of love."_

Miroku pulled her closer to him, so her back was against his chest; he held his arms tight around her, trying to staunch the rapid flow of blood from his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder and Sango could feel tears rolling down her arm. As the poison began to take over at a faster rate, his grip around her began to loosen. The poison from the bugs had spread throughout his entire body and him slowly feeling more and weak. He kissed the top of her head one last time before resting his head on her shoulder again. His lips moved to her ear and with the last of his strength he was able to tell her one last thing.

"I love you Sango." He murmured softly.

He knew that she didn't have much time or strength left but he still heard her reply slowly and painfully "I love you too Miroku."

They uttered those last words to each other, and Miroku felt and heard two fluttered breaths and before he know longer felt Sango's chest moving up and down. As soon as he knew she had died, he felt as if his heart was breaking. The poison ravaged his body and he felt his heartbeat slowing. He fought to keep breathing, although a small voice inside of him told him it was pointless. After minutes of fighting he knew that there was nothing left to do, his heartbeat slowed more and more until his body fell limp, still holding onto Sango's body.

**The End**

* * *

_Authoress' Note: You wouldn't know this by any of my other stories but I'm pretty anti-happy endings most of the time. So this story unfortunately had a less than pleasant ending. But I hope you all enjoyed it anyway. I'm glad I decided to rewrite this; it was good for me to see where I started out writing as opposed to where I am now with my writing. So yeah. The end._


End file.
